Republicans losing pop culture war

September 16, 2012|Noelle Nikpour

When your celebrity spokesperson is a rambling, 82-year-old actor, and your competitor's spokesperson is a well-liked Hollywood sex symbol, you've got a branding problem. And that was never more evident than during the Republican and Democratic conventions these past few weeks.

Of course, I'm talking about the speech by Clint Eastwood — a movie legend, yes, but one who needs to stick to acting and directing.

His "chair" speech was a disaster on two fronts: It cut into Mitt Romney's screen time, and it reminded voters of what the Republican Party's brand is in danger of becoming — too old and too white. The contrast between him and the Democrats' Eva Longoria, who is energetic, beautiful, and multi-ethnic, was striking.

Being a senior citizen, of course, does not make one unable to identify with younger voters. President Reagan, whose brand was ageless regardless of his age, won the under-29 vote by 20 points in 1984.

But that age group now is helping elect Obama. In 2008, he won 66 percent of the 18-to-29 vote, and it will be a crucial demographic for him in 2012.

As in 2008, he'll have help from the entertainment industry, where Democrats have a clear branding advantage. Their supporters there read like a Hollywood who's who: George Clooney, Will.i.Am, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Gwen Stefani, Oprah Winfrey.

Scoff at those names if you must, but they carry a lot of influence with young voters. And they have allies in the sports world. Last month Michael Jordan hosted a $3 million fundraiser for Obama that included current NBA stars. Good luck beating that with Kelsey Grammer ("Frasier") and Gary Sinise (of CSI:NY and Lieutenant Dan from Forrest Gump), two of the most well-known Republican celebrities.

The irony is that, since Reagan's 1980 campaign, Republicans have had a much better overall brand than Democrats. Republicans have clearly stood for less government, lower taxes, a strong military, and traditional values. Democrats, on the other hand, have been undisciplined, divided and unfocused.

But now the Republican Party's brand is beginning to suffer among certain important segments. Its hard-line stance on social issues turns off a lot of younger voters. Its opposition to the DREAM Act, which would grant citizenship to certain children of illegal immigrants, reinforces its poor standing among minorities.

This branding problem is also ironic in that, while Democrats offer stale, tired, big government solutions and meaningless promises of hope and change, Republicans are the party of dynamic ideas that should have both youthful and multiethnic appeal. Republicans are the party of entrepreneurship and self-sufficiency. The GOP is the only party that has offered a credible plan to stop Medicare from going bankrupt before young people have a chance to access it. The party's past two vice presidential nominees have been unconventional, youthful, physically fit 40-somethings.

However, it's hard for voters — particularly distracted, misinformed young ones — to see all of that when the images they're presented are sexy Eva Longoria versus Clint Eastwood talking to a chair.

Republicans should not surrender pop culture to the Democrats. After all, for decades, conservatives complained about a liberal bias in the media, until finally they created a counterweight in talk radio and Fox News. Why not produce and support movies and television shows celebrating good dads, job creators, people with conservative values — you know, Republican types? History has shown you can make some money that way.

And instead of treating pop culture like an enemy, why not develop relationships with entertainment figures, most of whom built their own careers without a lot of government help and now pay a lot of taxes?

Some of those folks might be persuaded to the Republican point of view — particularly around April 15.

Fox News commentator Noelle Nikpour is completing her first book, "Branding of America." Follow her on Twitter at @NoelleNikpour and respond to this column at letters@sun-sentinel.com.